Winter 2008
Macchiarola Named Honoree of 47th Annual Charter Award Dinner Event Achieves New Fundraising Record
A
R egi s t e r onl ine at: w w w.s t f r a nci s c o l l eg e .edu
lumni, students, faculty and friends of St. Francis College will gather for a festive evening at Cipriani 42nd Street in Manhattan to honor President Frank J. Macchiarola ’62 at this year’s Charter Award Dinner, which will take place on April 8. The honor recognizes Macchiarola’s four decades of devoted service to St. Francis College and the people of the City and State of New York. This year’s Dinner will also mark the beginning of the 150th anniversary celebration of St. Francis College’s founding by the Franciscan Brothers. The fundraising effort for the Dinner has already set a new record this year. As of March 1, more than $650,000 has been raised to support the College’s mission to provide an affordable, superior liberal arts education and scholarship aid to over 2,300 students, many of whom are the first in their family to attend college. St. Francis College’s success in grooming the young men and women who enter its doors with few advantages — other than intelligence and an intense drive to succeed and make a difference — is personified by Macchiarola’s career. A first generation college student, he graduated magna cum laude with a B.A. in history. From the College’s former campus on Baltic Street, Macchiarola’s educational pursuits took him to Columbia University, where he earned his law degree in 1965 and his Ph.D. in 1970. Following his return to his alma mater in 1996, Macchiarola’s leadership has revitalized St. Francis College. New academic programs
have been added in growing fields such as nursing and information technology. The College will also award its first master’s degree in the spring of 2008, an M.S. in accounting. Educational opportunity has been expanded enormously through 196 endowed scholarship funds. Today’s students are also benefiting from the most ambitious campus expansion and improvement effort since the 1960’s, which is highlighted by the addition of the new Academic Center, which houses a new library, 14 high-tech classrooms and the Maroney Forum for Arts, Culture and Education, as well as the Anthony J. Genovesi Center, a multi-purpose athletic and special event facility. These improvements were largely funded by the recently concluded Campaign for Big Dreams, the capital campaign that raised a record $40 million for the College. Macchiarola’s service to the City and State of New York included an appointment by Mayor Edward Koch to the Chancellorship